Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) continued their push to crack down on currency manipulation by foreign competitors, urging the Administration to combat the practice that hurts Ohio exports and workers through our ongoing trade negotiations.

In a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, the senators wrote, “As you know, last month Congress passed Trade Promotion Authority, which includes two principal negotiating objectives that explicitly call on the Administration to address currency manipulation through our ongoing trade negotiations. Therefore, as you continue negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, we urge you to prioritize combatting currency manipulation by our competitors.”

Portman and Brown were joined on the letter by Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and Richard Burr (R-N.C.), all members of the Senate Finance Committee.

We write to urge the Administration to combat currency manipulation through our ongoing trade negotiations.

As you know, last month Congress passed Trade Promotion Authority, which includes two principal negotiating objectives that explicitly call on the Administration to address currency manipulation through our ongoing trade negotiations. Therefore, as you continue negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, we urge you to prioritize combatting currency manipulation by our competitors.

American workers can compete and win in the global economy if given a level playing field. However, our workers suffer when our competitors manipulate their currency to boost foreign exports to the U.S., while making Made in America exports more expensive. Currency manipulation is one of the most egregious efforts undertaken to harm the competitiveness of hard-working manufacturers, farmers and small businesses throughout the U.S.